Barca coach Guardiola lauds 'outrageous' Messi

'It's a good fortune to have Messi as a colleague'

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola described Lionel Messi's achievements as "outrageous" after the World Player of the Year produced another masterclass in Wednesday's 2-0 Champions League win at Real Madrid.

The Argentina forward's two goals in the semi-final first leg at the Bernabeu, which gave Barca a huge advantage for next week's second leg, took his tally for the Catalan club to 179 and put him ahead of Josep Samitier on their list of all-time top scorers.

The 23-year-old has 52 goals in all competitions this season and 11 in 11 games in the Champions League, putting him three clear on the scoring chart he also topped in the last two editions of Europe's elite club competition.

"That's the good fortune that we have, to be able to be a colleague of his," Guardiola said.